DESCRIPTION (adapted from the application): The goal of this K07 application is to promote research and research training on the demography and economics of aging at the UNC-CH. Support is requested for a program led by Dr. David Blau, a labor and population economist and professor of economics, and Dr. Edward Norton, a health economist and associate professor of health policy and administration, and administered through the Carolina Population Center (CPC). Specific activities to be pursued by the Demography and Economics of Aging Research (DEAR) program under K07 support are: (1) seed funding for pilot studies on issues in the demography and economics of aging intended to lead to grant applications submitted for external funding; (2) a seminar series on demography, and economics of aging research; and (3) travel awards to researchers to present findings at professional aging and gerontology meetings. External support for population aging studies will be combined with internal support to build a base of scientific interest and research and training capacity at UNC-CH. The CPC mission is to coordinate population research and research training at UNC-CH. Demographic and economics research on aging will be further enhanced by formal collaboration with the new state-legislated Institute on Aging (IOA), sited on the UNC-CH campus, that has a statewide mandate to promote gerontological research, translate research-based knowledge into educational and practice programs, and inform state policies and programs that address the needs of older adults and their families. The present offers an opportune time to promote demography and aging research at UNC-CH across departments, centers and institutes with a permanent IOA director in place and broad institutional support for research collaboration. K07 support will enable the formation of a visible scientific community of UNC-CH faculty committed to building a strong research program on population aging, an area to which there has been an increasing and recent university commitment of resources.